Schools “carry the burden of Britain’s family breakdown” - March 10, 2008

The title is the front page headline in the Daily Telegraph, Monday 10th March 2008

Children’s well being begins with their parents, but it is society that has a major influence on how parents behave. Irrespective of the culture in which children grow, there are certain factors in physical and social development that are universal. These begin with parental health before conception, the course of pregnancy, type of birth, early and later feeding practices, the biology of emotional attachment and amount of one-to-one interaction and social engagement experienced by the child. Children need mothers who talk to them and fathers who play with them, they need codes of behaviour and discipline consistently enforced. In the early years, children need their mothers, not just for a few hours at the beginning and end of the day but to be present to provide physical and emotional reassurance. Child development is rooted in the biology of motherhood. Motherhood is shaped by the political, social and religious expectations of society and a society which fails to value motherhood is a society which mortgages its own future. This is the subject of my new book “What babies and children really need” due to be published by Hawthorn Press in April 2008.

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What babies and children really need - March 6, 2008

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By Sally Goddard Blythe. Due to be published by Hawthorn Press. May 2008.
A recent report by UNICEF found that the quality of childhood in many of the wealthiest nations of the world is surprisingly, very poor. A new book ‘What babies and children really need’, due to be published this year, examines the crucial early years from a child’s perspective arguing that what children really need beyond the basics of food and shelter are parental time and physical engagement. A preview article is published in this month’s edition of “First Steps” magazine (Australia. March 2008)
For pre-publication information see www.inpp.org.uk/publications

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